I Need You
by Angel From Above Is Here
Summary: Von is struggling with her past. Frank notices something's wrong. Will he be able to help her? Can he be what she needs now she's confronted with something she thought to have buried over thirty years ago? Read and find out!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is a Von/Frank fic. I know, not the most known pair, but I really think they could work! To everyone who reads: please, leave me a review so I can see whether you liked it or not. Reviews are my best friend!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything. Nor will I ever, I'm afraid...**

**Chapter One  
**

As soon as she had made it into the break room, Von's composed demeanor crumbled.

She had to grab the edge of the table in front of her for support, as she felt her knees threatening to give way. Her heart was beating so hard she could feel it pounding against her chest. And she was feeling physically sick.

Von couldn't prevent tears beginning to form in the corners of her eyes. For thirty-nine years she had believed she had dealt with it! And now she realized all of her demons were still standing where she had left them when she had returned from Vietnam.

She angrily fisted one hand and roughly wiped the drops away. She was not going to cry, she promised herself.

How was it that something as small and stupid as being locked up in a bathroom could do this to her?

Okay, if she were honest it had been more than that. Dominic locking her up in his bathroom had just been the last drop.

First she had had to endure that man saying the exact same words as her two attackers back in Vietnam.

The moment those words had left his mouth, a cold shiver had run down her spine, fear filling her entire body. It had transported her all the way back to the day she had longed for so long to forget.

_Suddenly she was aware there was someone coming up to her. The footsteps were becoming louder and louder._

_Before she knew what was happening, a soldier had appeared behind her and had put his hand over her mouth._

"_Do as you're told," he had whispered, close to her ear._

_She had felt the cool gun against her temple. His warm hand on her hip. The way said hand was beginning to move upwards._

And as if that hadn't already been enough, she had been separated from her friends during the robbery at the hospital. Stuck in a room with two male doctors.

That had had the same effect on her as Dominic's bathroom. She had felt as if it was all happening to her again.

But she had kept silent. Nobody knew about the terrible ordeal she had experienced, and she didn't want to have to explain why being in one room with two doctors she had known for a long time was scaring her more than being threatened by a couple of robbers who wanted nothing more than the hospital's pharmaceutical supply.

Some might think it odd she had never spoken about being raped. Yet what had happened in Vietnam had stayed in Vietnam. Not only for her, but for many others as well. It was as if it was another part of her life, as if it had all happened to someone else instead of her.

Von could hear footsteps in the distance. She realized someone was coming towards the break room.

So she quickly walked towards the sink and grabbed a cup. Whoever opened the door would think the liaison nurse was just enjoying a cup of tea before going back to work. It would save her a lot of questions.

When the door handle clicked, she exhaled one last time, in order to appear calm and in control as always.

"Oh, there you are, Von. I was looking for you," Gabrielle said.

"Really? What can I do for you than?" Von asked her.

"Frank has got a patient who's just been diagnosed with schizophrenia… He wanted to know whether you could contact the family and speak to them about the different options for this man," Gabrielle told her.

Von nodded.

"I'll get onto it straight away," she promised.

"Thanks, Von," Grabby said.

And when the door closed again, Von was alone once more.

It was time to get back out there. There was no denying that. Her colleagues would start getting suspicious soon.

So she splashed some water on her face, dried it with a towel and checked herself in the small mirror before leaving.

If she played her cards right, nobody needed to know she was having a hard time.

The rest of the day she tried to keep a low profile, which she seemed to be rather successful at. She managed to avoid questions, the other nurses seemingly were unaware of what had happened before.

Luckily for her it was a busy day. People were in and out the ED sooner than she could count them.

And there was of course Mister Aldridge's family who had arrived, and who needed some explanation about his condition.

She was standing beside Frank, and he was preparing to inform them about what having schizophrenia meant. And then it would be her turn.

"Misses Aldridge, I'm sorry to say this, but your husband has just been diagnosed with schizophrenia."

There was a silence. Amanda Aldridge clasped her hand in front of her mouth and grabbed a hold of her daughter Lara.

"Misses Aldridge, I know this will come as a shock to you. You have probably heard about schizophrenia. And it is true, it's not an easy condition to deal with. Neither for the patient, nor for his family, I'm afraid. But together, you can try and find a way to deal with it," Frank tried to console his wife and children.

"Can our father still live at home?" his son, Malcolm, wanted to know.

Frank looked at Von to take over. She took a deep breath before starting to speak.

"Malcolm, do you realize what problems your father will start to experience in the near future?" Von inquired.

The young man slowly shook his head. She hadn't expected anything more. After all, few people knew the real difficulties of the disease if they had never been confronted with it personally.

"He will start to forget things. Small things at first. But then it'll become more frequent. He won't even remember something you told him ten minutes before. And after a while, he'll even forget your name."

She waited a few seconds before continuing.

"I'm not saying this to scare you, believe me. I just want you to know what it'll be like. Because I can see that you really want to take him home. But you have to realize, it'll be hard on all of you. You'll need help. And that's what I'm here for, to help you find the help you need so you can keep him close."

She could feel Frank's eyes on her back, obviously wondering why she seemed to be affected by this case even more than she usually was.

But she pretended not to notice it as she explained to the family what they could do to make it a little easier in them to allow their father to live with them for as long as possible.

Eventually, the family left to visit Mister Aldridge one last time before heading home. Frank waited until they had left to start filling out some paperwork.

Von used the opportunity to sneak past Zoe and retreat in a small corner outside the hospital. The fresh air was a welcome change from the warm, suffocating heat inside.

She lit a cigarette and sunk down against the wall. She was glad her shift was almost over. She had really had enough for one day.

The only thing she wanted to do, was head home, take a hot bath and get some sleep. It would all be better in the morning, she was sure of it.

But at home, she'd be all alone. With nobody to distract her from the horrible images that would start playing in front of her eyes when she closed them.

Bloody hell, she thought. Why does everything have to be so bloody hard?

She rested her head against the cool stones behind her, angrily pushing out her cigarette on the ground.

Just then, she heard her name being called.

"Von?"

She lifted her head to see Frank walking towards her. He was looking a little worried, which made her realize she must have shown more of what was going on inside her than she should have.

"Yes, Frank? Did you need me?" she wanted to know.

"No, I just wanted to ask you whether you're okay."

She was more than a little surprised at hearing him say that. But she was touched as well, it meant he really did care for those around him.

She decided to show him the same courtesy as he had shown her and tell him the truth. Maybe she'd end up regretting it, maybe she wouldn't. But what did she have to lose?

"I'm not okay. But I will be," she said, softly.

He looked right into her eyes now.

"Alright then. But if you need anything, just let me know, okay? Call me, come to my office, anything."

"I will," she assured him.

And after that, Frank left. Von slowly rose from the ground, preparing to finish today's work.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: The second chapter is finally up! I know it took me a while, but real life has been very difficult for me. I've been in hospital, my nephew has been in hospital, you name it and it happened… But I managed to get this finished! Right now, though, I need my readers' help! Do you want me to stop here? Or would you like to read more about Frank and Von breaking the news to the other? Or maybe you would like to see them getting married? Let me know, please!**

**Disclaimer: Anything you recognize is not mine, unfortunately…**

Von was staring at her ceiling. The softly glowing moon was the only source of light. It allowed formless shadows to play along the wall, her demons in a shape she had never seen them in before.

For the past half an hour she had been in bed. She had barely been able to keep herself from dozing off in the sofa, so she'd decided to go upstairs and to bed. Tired as she'd been, though, she had not yet been able to fall asleep.

She kept flashing back to the day she'd been raped. All of the details still as clear as they had been thirty-nine years ago. The smell of the man's sweat, the eyes of the second man upon her as he forced her down on the bed. The feeling of utter uselessness when she realized there was no way she could ever escape, however hard she fought.

She fisted her hand in anger. The days in which she had been convinced she hadn't done everything she could to free herself from those men were over. She bloody hell was not going to go back there.

But how could she prevent herself from being dragged back there? What would provide her with other and happier memories?

She kicked back the covers. Staying in bed would do her no good. She needed to find something to mentally tire herself. That way she would be too tired to think. It was a bit of a desperate decision, she admitted to herself. But how else would she manage to get some sleep?

As soon as her foot touched the carpet, she realized she was cold. She had goose bumps all over her arms, her face was cold to the touch when she raised a hand to it. This was rather strange, as it wasn't at all cold.

Von grabbed a sweater that was lying on the chair in the corner of the room. At least that way she would feel a little warmer.

Making her way down the stairs, she decided she would turn on the TV. Not that she was particularly fond of TV, most of the time she just found the programs a lot of rubbish and the news was made to make people feel even more miserable if they watched it after a hard day.

In the living room she sat down on her couch and started flicking through the channels. Monotone voices began filling the room, their owners all looking the same in the dim light.

But this did nothing to help her fall into peaceful slumber. She had put the TV volume very low, she almost had to strain to hear it. Yet that only added to the trouble instead of helping her fall asleep.

As she sat on her couch, Von was suddenly hit with the realization the house was extremely quiet.

She was used to living on her own. Maybe too used it, if she were honest. But the absence of any noise made by another human being only strengthened her feeling of solitude tonight. For some reason the silence was like a thick, black blanket, suffocating her.

She had to keep from beginning to cry. It was so unfair! Everything she had been so used to now scared her.

Rubbing her eyes, she realized the last thing she wanted right now, was to be alone. All her life she had been so strong. So independent. Whatever life had thrown at her, she'd dealt with it on her own. Now, however, she had to admit she was tired of it.

All this being strong shit had to be done with. Or else she's break, it was as simple as that. And for the first time in her life, Von wanted to share all of the emotions she had been dragging around for so many years with someone, wanted to let it all out instead of keeping it bottled up.

All sleepiness was now gone. Von was surprised at the amount of energy she suddenly seemed to have, but being a nurse she knew it came from nothing more than having something else to do than sitting around an empty house: going to Frank.

The head of the All Saints emergency department might not exactly be a considerate or compassionate man most of the time. His rudeness and extreme resentment to anyone he believed to be incapable of doing his or her job was almost legendary within the hospital.

But he had come to her when she'd fled the building, he had worried about her enough to follow her and to try to figure out whether she was really okay. That had to mean something, right? He would have just left her to herself if he hadn't cared, wouldn't he?

Von shook her head. She was making herself nervous by asking herself all of these questions. He had come looking for her, that was what counted. And whatever the reason, it must have been a pretty good one, because he hadn't really wanted to leave her.

Finally deciding that there was nothing else she could do, nobody else she could turn to, Von stood up from the sofa.

Not that her mind was completely made up. Or that she didn't have any doubts anymore. But what point was there in crying on her own and breaking down if there was somebody out there who had told her to come to him if she wasn't coping?

Rubbing her arms she made her way to the hallway. She grabbed her coat and pulled it on. She was still wearing her pajamas, yet she didn't care. She didn't want to lose any more time than she already had.

After a little while she pulled up on Frank's driveway. Getting out of the car, she breathed in deeply and walked up to the front door.

"I hope I'm doing the right thing," she mumbled to herself as she lifted her hand to knock.

It didn't take long for Frank to come and open the door. Probably because he wasn't used to getting visitors at two a.m…

When he saw who was standing there, there was only one thing he had to say.

"You look bloody awful! Jesus! Come on in," he added.

Von began to laugh at his words, but tears quickly started falling down her cheeks. She felt even more awful than she looked, she realized.

Frank didn't speak, but guided her inside with a hand on her arm and the other on her back.

"Sit," he ordered when they had reached the couch.

Von sank down on it, still crying, shivering all over. For a moment Frank just sat there, looking at her as if he was giving her the opportunity to get a grip before starting a conversation.

After a few minutes her tears began to stop falling. Her breathing became a little less ragged.

"Now, why don't you tell me why you're here?"

Like he always did, Frank got straight to the point. And the liaison nurse was glad about that.

"I… I don't really know where to start… What triggered this happened a really long time ago, Frank, and… Well, I don't know how to tell you…"

The plea for him to understand was clearly audible in her voice. So he reassured her somewhat.

"It's okay. Take your time."

Von stared at her knees and fumbled with her hands.

"You know I worked in Vietnam, don't you?" she finally asked him.

He nodded, not willing to say anything in case he said something wrong.

"That was thirty-nine years ago. And that's when it happened. On a day like any other. Only by that evening it would be the worst day of my life…"

Frank swallowed. He had not expected this. And he had no idea where this was going. But he kept listening. He wouldn't stop now she had finally found the courage to tell him what was going on.

"I was down in the basement of the building we used as a hospital. It had been really hot all day. But at that moment, a storm was coming on. I could hear the thunder in the distance."

This story was making the hairs on Frank's arms stand up.

"Two soldiers came in. One of them put his gun against my head. The other stood a few feet behind him. They pulled me towards a small room next to the main part of the basement. One of them raped me, while the other watched it all happen and did nothing," she softly said, in barely more than a whisper.

Frank was shocked. What kind of man was so evil that he could watch as another man raped a woman? And what kind of man could do such a vile thing?

"Oh, Von… I'm so sorry…"

He couldn't say anything else. But she didn't need him to say anything else. She knew what he was trying to say.

"I kept it all inside all those years. I thought I'd dealt with it. But when Dominic slammed his bathroom door shut behind me and I couldn't escape… I found myself in that basement again."

Tears began to form behind her now closed eyelids again. She felt really silly when she noticed her bottom lip was shaking.

Suddenly Frank pulled her towards him and enveloped him in his arms. She tensed up a little, but when he stroked her back with one hand, she rested her head against his shoulder.

"I wished you would've come to me sooner," he confessed, still holding her.

"You wouldn't have been able to do anything until I let you. I wasn't ready to talk before."

Her voice was muffled somewhat by his shirt.

"Yeah, you're right. I'm glad you trusted me enough to tell me this. I know it can't have been easy, but it was the right thing to do."

Von was now shaking less. It had almost completely stopped, even. But she just felt so tired now the adrenaline was fading. She couldn't suppress a yawn anymore.

"You should rest. You must be exhausted."

Frank could feel her nod against his shoulder, but she just sat there and didn't move. He decided it was up to him to act.

He slowly grabbed her hand and pulled it lightly. She allowed him to pull her into a sitting position. But instead of letting go, he held her hand and pulled her out of the sofa, leading her out of the room and up the stairs.

"Luckily you're already in your pajama's. Else you would've had to borrow a shirt of mine," he said, almost smiling.

Von had a smile pulling at the corners of her lips as well.

"I wouldn't have minded, you know."

He looked at her for a moment. In her eyes, he realized, was love. Love for him. And that was what had brought her here. Her love for him had made her trust him enough to let him in on the biggest secret she had.

"If you want to, I can get you one," he spoke.

He knew it was probably not a very wise thing to say, but on the other hand he shouldn't treat her any differently than he had before. She wouldn't want him to.

"I'd really like that," she admitted, blushing a little.

Frank realized he would like to see her blush some more. But not tonight. Tonight wasn't about him. It was about her.

He left the room and came back two minutes later with a shirt in his hands. Without speaking, he handed it to her.

Von took it, not speaking either. She took of her pajama top, not turning away from him.

"You don't have to do this," he told her, grabbing her hand.

"I know. But I want to. You're the only one I want to do this for. You're the only one I trust enough to do this for."

And he let go, watching as she let her pants fall down to the floor and got back into bed.

When he made to leave, though, she surprised him again. She put her hand on his arm, stopping him.

"Please… I don't… Well…"

Her voice died away and she softly patted the bed next to her. He knew what she wanted and complied.

When Von curled up against him, she felt safe and protected. Loved and at ease.

When he put his arm around Von to keep her close, Frank felt loved and at ease. Protective of the woman in his arms.

And both of them knew it was the beginning of their journey together. They realized there would be obstacles, problems along the way. But they knew they'd be able to face them as long as they faced them together.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Here I am again, after a very long absence! I know, real life has a tendency to do that. But I'm still not happy about it! Fortunately, my muse was working overtime, and she helped me come up with this little chapter! Two people who are in love, two people spying on them. You'll have to read it to figure out who's spying, thought! Let me know what you think! Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated!**

**Disclaimer: Even after writing this, I do not own All Saints. And I'm afraid I never will, either.**

"Frank, could you have a look at my patient, please?" Von asked.

Frank looked up from the files he'd been reading, lowering hem unto the surface of the front desk.

"Alright, since I'm in a good mood today, I'll humor you," he said, the corners of his mouth twitching slightly.

Von had to make an equally big effort not to laugh. Luckily for them, they both succeeded, albeit barely.

As they made their way towards Von's patient, Frank noticed that Bart was not tending to anyone, and that Charlotte was filling out the last papers for one of her patients. Von could have easily asked for them to help her out, he realized, but instead she had come to him.

He didn't get a lot of time to think about that, though, as he needed to tend to the patient.

"Amanda, this is doctor Campion. He's here to help me figure out what's wrong with you," Von said.

"Hello, Amanda," Frank said.

Von handed her some tissues as he spoke to her, for a to him unknown reason. A few seconds later, though, the reason was revealed, as Amanda coughed up a rather large amount of blood.

"So when did you start doing that?" he asked, pointing to the tissue.

As the conversation progresses, Von couldn't keep her eyes off of Frank. She thought he looked different today. More at peace. Calmer. Her heart fluttered at the knowledge it was her doing that to him.

She knew she could have called upon Charlotte or Bart to check on Amanda, they would have been just as capable. But she had really wanted to be close to Frank without dragging too much attention to the both of them.

Although she had no doubt that their friends would approve, she knew he wasn't quite ready to show the world just yet. An neither was she, if she were completely honest. She wanted to keep this secret just a little longer.

But her plans for the upcoming lunch break were not exactly fail proof. They could easily be seen then. But then again, she and Frank had always gotten along well, so it wouldn't seem too suspicious.

"Alright, I'll call radiology myself to let them know you're coming immediately. I'll get someone to take you, okay?" she heard Frank say.

He motioned for Von to follow him and closed the doors as soon as they were both out. She could tell he wasn't too happy.

"What's wrong?" she asked, softly.

He rubbed his face.

"She might have a growth on her lung. I'm running a few test on the blood you took, and I'm hoping she won't, but I'm not feeling too positive about this," he said.

She couldn't help herself. Before she knew what she was doing, she had put her hand on his hand.

A soft smile graced her face when he smiled a little himself.

"You know what? It's nearly time to take a lunch break. Even you are allowed one, you know. Maybe we could go and eat something together? It would take your mind of off things," she offered.

Her heart was beating more rapidly now. What if he thought she was crossing some sort of boundary here? They were still at work, after all.

"I'd love that," he said.

Before she had had the time to take the words in, he had dragged her up. Not letting go of her hand, he lead her out of the E.R so they could go and get something to eat in the cafeteria.

Von looked around discreetly. A part of her was a little afraid someone might notice them walking through the Emergency Department hand in hand. This was all so new, she didn't want any trouble this soon. But Gabrielle was busy tending to a patient, as were the others. And Dan was looking over some pills with Charlotte.

"What do you want?" Frank asked her when they reached the cafeteria.

Von thought about that. The food wasn't the best you could get, but at least it was better food than most hospitals serves. She smiled a little at that.

"A sandwich, please," she said.

Frank looked over the other dishes. By the look on his face, none of them were his food of choice.

"I think I'll have one, too. The other stuff doesn't look all that good," he grumbled lightly.

Von tapped his arm lightly, barely managing to hold back the laughter bubbling up inside of her.

The sandwiches they were presented looked as if everything was fairly fresh, so she was glad she had opted for one. And Frank seemed pleased, too, which she was grateful for. The poor kitchen staff probably had enough trouble as it was keeping up with the stream of visitors, doctors and nurses to deal with an unhappy customer.

Frank pointed to a table partially hidden by some bushes and trees. She nodded, following him.

"How long do you think it'll be before somebody realizes we're missing and comes looking for us?" he asked as they sat down.

Von cocked an eyebrow at that question, but pondered it non-the-less before replying.

"Not too long. I'm the nurse with the most experience, you're the boss. Maybe fifteen minutes, considering they'll probably realize we're eating. Why?" she asked.

Frank had just taken a bit, so he had to leave her waiting for an answer a little longer than she had hoped.

"I just like spending some time with you. Even if it's risky doing that here," he told her.

Von could hardly believe what Frank was saying. He normally wasn't one to show his feelings, and although she had seen glimpses of them before, he was going all out this time.

She realized this relationship had already begun to change him. He was still the strict doctor he had been when she first met him, he could still be just as much of an ass as he used to be. But in front of her, his walls were beginning to crumble.

"It's a good thing then that I like spending time with you, too. Or you'd have a problem," she countered.

As they continued to eat, stopping every few bites to keep their conversation going, they were so lost in each other they did not notice that they had been followed out of the Hospital by two people they worked with on a daily basis.

Charlotte and Bart were hiding behind the tree farthest away from the two. They'd wanted to get closer, but there wasn't enough cover to make sure they could approach them without being seen.

"I can't believe I'm doing this," Bart frantically whispered.

The sound was a little louder than he had expected, probably because of the stress he was in.

Charlotte poked him in the ribs lightly, effectively shutting him up so they wouldn't be caught eavesdropping on their boss and colleague.

"You are doing this. Now be quiet and listen. I'm sure something is going on between those two," Charlotte whispered.

Bart took the risk of glancing past the tree then, just to get a glimpse of them that would tell him that Charlotte was wrong. Of course he had noticed the changes in the two's behavior, but they couldn't possibly be dating, could they? Were they even remotely interested in each other?

What he saw, immediately told him Charlotte might actually be up to something. Frank was holding Von's hand, and she didn't seem to mind at all. And after looking around to make sure nobody could see, he kissed her cheek, which she also allowed him to do.

"Okay, you're right. They are definitely dating," he told her in a barely audible voice.

Charlotte stuck her tongue out at him when he said that, obviously happy she had been correct in assuming something had changed in the dynamics between Frank and Von.

She grabbed a hold of Bart and pulled him closer to her and down to the ground when she saw Frank and Von getting up. No need to blow their cover now, after all.

"Don't worry, I'm sure Amanda's test results will be back soon. Whatever it is, we'll deal with it then," Von said.

Frank shook his head bitterly.

"Yeah, well, I just don't feel like telling a young woman she's about to die a horrible death because of a growth on her long. Not today I don't," he told her.

Von squeezed his hand, letting him know she knew how difficult it was to be the bearer of bad news. During her years as a nurse, she had delivered it far too often to her liking.

As they disappeared, both of the spies behind the tree came back up.

Bart saw Charlotte's triumphant look and knew he was going to pay for not immediately believing her later. But he thought it was best not to remind her of that promise just yet.

"What are you going to do now that you've proven your theory?" he wanted to know.

Charlotte thought about that for a second. Whatever decision she made, it had to be the right one or it could end her in a whole lot of trouble.

"Wait," she finally said.

Bart looked at her questioningly.

"I don't know how long they've been together. Maybe this is still very new. Who knows if they'll make it? I'm not taking the risk of causing trouble in paradise," she explained.

Her companion breathed out a sigh of relief. At least she wasn't going to do anything stupid.

They began walking back to the hospital, getting ready to start working again. Even though staying focused might prove a little bit harder for them now that they were aware of one of the biggest and probably best kept secrets in the entire building.

"Bart?" Charlotte suddenly said.

He looked at her now, his mind returning from his journey to what Frank might do if he ever found out the two of them spied on him and Von.

"Yeah?" he said.

Charlotte stopped before continuing to speak.

"Don't forget I promised to make you pay for not believing me. Be prepared," she said.

Charlotte smiled smugly as she turned around again and walked through the doors of the E.D.


End file.
